King Sorrow by Joseph Hillstrom King Review – An Epic Supernatural Epic Delivers Masterpiece-Level Thrills

A group of six oddball but doughty children fall into the path of a immense and fearsome otherworldly malevolence that has entered our realm from the farthest reaches of shadow. They must wage a lifelong battle battling it, experiencing horror after horror in the ordeal.

An Echoing Plot with a Distinctive Approach

This describes the premise, broadly speaking, of Stephen King’s iconic book It (arguably his finest; no arguments). It is also the plot of Stephen King’s offspring Joe Hill’s recent horror doorstopper, in which a close-knit group call forth the primordial, utterly malevolent dragon King Sorrow from the Abyssal Void to aid them in overcoming some antagonists. Unsurprisingly, their supernatural ritual backfires.

Acknowledging a Family Lineage

The author launched his profession going to great lengths to avoid any connection from his renowned parent, adopting the nom de plume he still uses today and eschewing in-person meetings with his agent (he exhibits a strong similarity to his dad). But in this latest novel, he embraces it. There are lines that deliberately echo some of King’s most famous (that classic opening line); a scene that evokes a recurring theme in King’s works (a riddling contest). In this epic story, Hill is delighting in his lineage, and we delight along with him.

The Cast of the Protagonists

Back to those friends: the majority are students at the imagined Rackham College in this northeastern locale. We have Arthur, studious and gifted, deciphering historical enigmas in his free moments; another key figure, rich, clever, and known for crushing anyone who stands in his way; Donna and Donovan; the stunning Allie. Additionally, Gwen appears, who remains outside their academic circle, but assumes a vital role of their circle as they experiment, partly convinced, half not, in supernatural practices.

The Fateful Ceremony

Our hero becomes, for reasons we don’t need to go into, forced into stealing rare books from his treasured institution’s archives by a bunch of local criminals. This wounds his academic spirit, particularly as he’s compelled to seize the collection’s foremost and unsettling title: the journal of occultist Enoch Crane (put to death “for dealing with infernal entities in 1703”; the binding is made from his skin). These young investigators peruse the diary, discover they could summon what the occultist details as a armoured devil” to aid our hero with his blackmail problem – and occupy the subsequent narrative facing the fallout. King Sorrow will undoubtedly remove those problematic neighborhood criminals, but they must select a fresh offering each year or fall prey to the beast. In the character’s own words: “You plant seeds of destruction, all you get is more dragons.”

Stylistic Fluidity and Inventive Breadth

Covering a generation, the author shifts with seamless grace between genres: as the allies attempt to deal with the circumstances they find themselves in by, through diverse methods, choosing undeniably wicked targets to offer up, or seeking means to kill the dragon themselves, we transition from page-turner to shadowy tale, covert operations to love story to horror. My favorite genre switch was to a adventure narrative, deep in the caves beneath this UK region, a section tinged by JRR Tolkien that was magnificently horrifying.

An Expansive Canvas of Fear and Optimism

There are trolls – those living under bridges and digital trolls, truly terrifying and superbly depicted. We see enchanted blades and betrayals, heart-stopping scenes of courage and scenes of dreadful evil, both mortal and extraterrestrial. It stands as a masterpiece: a chilling book that is chiefly a tribute to the imagination, and to love and friendship. “We longed for a tale to embrace and {now we’ve got one|presently we possess it|currently we hold it,” says the wealthy student as the friends sit around the table, preparing to summon their beast to life with the power of their thoughts.

In the author’s own words in his opening statement: “Here be dragons”. Don’t miss them.